A petition was subsequently moved before the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the November 2024 decision. On April 15, 2025, the SC directed the Delhi HC to consider the cases of the deferred and rejected candidates in accordance with the High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocates Rules, 2024.The Delhi High Court, in a full court meeting on Thursday evening, approved the designation of 85 advocates as senior advocates, with dissent recorded over one of the 86 names placed before it, The Indian Express has learnt.Among those designated senior is ED special counsel Zoheb Hossain and former ED special counsel Nitesh Rana, Delhi government’s standing counsel on the criminal side Sanjay Lao, additional standing counsel on civil side Satyakam. Special public prosecutor representing the Delhi police in the 2020 northeast Delhi riot cases Amit Prasad too has been designated a senior. 10 women, including Manali Singhal, have also been designated seniors.The designations, which follow a Supreme Court direction to reconsider candidates deferred or rejected in the controversial 2024 process, were preceded by rigorous one-on-one interviews that several candidates described as “a pleasant change” and a sharp departure from the previous round.The committee this time comprised Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya as chairperson, the two senior-most judges, Justices V Kameswar Rao and Nitin Wasudeo Sambre; Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma; Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) president N Hariharan; and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain.The 85 fresh designations will add to the list of 70 senior advocates designated in 2024, a process that was challenged before the SC. In November 2024, the High Court’s Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates deferred a decision on 67 of the 302 applicants, designated 70 and rejected the remaining 165.The controversy erupted when senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, one of the six members of the Permanent Committee, resigned, writing to then Chief Justice Manmohan and the Delhi government that the final list had been drawn up without his assent. The designations were made on the eve of Justice Manmohan’s elevation to the SC.A petition was subsequently moved before the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the November 2024 decision. On April 15, 2025, the SC directed the Delhi HC to consider the cases of the deferred and rejected candidates in accordance with the High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocates Rules, 2024.Story continues below this ad“The issue prima facie is that marks assigned by one member (of the Permanent Committee) have not been considered,” Justice Abhay Oka, then hearing the petition, had said. The court also directed reconstitution of the Permanent Committee under the rules, ordering that the deferred and rejected applications be placed before it afresh.The reconstituted Permanent Committee considered the applications of the 232 advocates deferred or rejected in 2024, and, this time, conducted interviews markedly different in character.Advocates who appeared before the committee said each candidate was interviewed one-on-one for anywhere between five and 15 minutes, with 10-20 candidates slotted per day. The interview process began on April 28, and it is learnt that questions ranged from “basic questions on principles of law” to “questions on procedural law which may appear simple and straightforward but require logical thinking.”“The interviews were interactive, with questions being asked on principles of law. It is a first, and it is a welcome change… It also helps the judges know what kind of people they are designating,” an advocate who appeared before the committee in April said.Story continues below this adIn contrast, in 2024, advocates said that “groups of 10-odd advocates would be called into the room.”“‘We already know you and the work you have done. Is there anything more you want to add?’ This was the conversation in 2024,” another advocate said about interviews which were held in groups in 2024. Advocates also said that the interview lasted five minutes, collectively, for the entire group.The 2024 committee had scheduled interviews for 303 candidates over five days. Under the 2024 Rules, interviews carry 25 points, second only to the 50 points for judgments and domain expertise. Publications account for 5 points, and years of practice for 20.Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:delhi high courtNew Delhi